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Friday, April 1, 2016

 

Everyone will end up somewhere.

 

Life is a journey and every journey begins and ends somewhere. Those who end up at a destination of their own choosing are called visionaries. These people see what their lives could become and they map out a plan to get there. The problem for some however, is that they spend their lives following a flawed map. They are lead to climb the ladder all the way to the top only to discover that their ladder was leaning on the wrong wall. For others, they begin the journey but encounter difficulties and distractions on the road. This causes them to lose focus and even their passion and they end up veering off course.

 

God created you with a divine purpose.

 

I am amazed each time I think that God created everyone with a divine purpose; that you and I were placed on this earth to do something specifically designed by God himself. Discovering our divine purpose is what gives our lives purpose, passion, meaning, and direction. Walking in our divine purpose is what guarantees us that not only will we reach the top of the ladder, it also guarantees us that our ladder is leaning on the right wall. However, on the road to success there are many distractions.

 

Eventually, there will be bumps on the road.

 

Nehemiah, on the journey to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, discovered what some of us already know and what some will soon discover, that there will be bumps on the road. The rebuilding project took its toll on the workers. They were running out of food and money and the nobleman and officials in Jerusalem were taking advantage of the situation. The workers used their properties and business as collateral in exchange for high interest rate loans. When they could no longer make their payments, their businesses and properties were repossessed. Some of the workers even found themselves having to sell their children into slavery in order to survive.

 

Nehemiah 5:6-7 NLT

When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. 7 After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials.

 

Address the situation.

 

The longer you are at it, the easier it becomes to get distracted, tired, and even bored. Life’s daily cares will demand your attention and this has the potential to veer you off course. Nehemiah for his part, decided he needed to do something about the situation at hand. Nehemiah understood that the things we ignore never get better they only get worse. Therefore, Nehemiah decided that he was not going to overlook the situation but he was not going to act in haste either. He decided to carefully think through the situation and then decided to publicly address it.

 

Think it through.

 

When we act out of anger or frustration, we usually end up making some bad decisions. The more you think things through, the more you will recognize that giving up, turning back, or surrendering, are bad choices. Furthermore, you will become acutely aware of the need to act in a manner that will allow you to see your journey all the way through to its final destination.